Water repellent sandy soil due to being coated with the waxy substance found on eucalyptus leaves.
After 50mm of rain in the past day, a thin layer at the top got wet. Just a few millimeters below, it’s all dry. This makes it very difficult for seeds to germinate or for transplants to stay alive.
This area used to be covered in eucalyptus, and 3 years later there’s still a couple patches of soil like this. We’ve been covering some of it up with biomass this winter, but it’s too soon to tell if it makes a difference.
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